Entanglement
by Seraina
Summary: A man desires someone he cannot have. But one day he will. One day. Written for the ATLA Fanfiction Challenges Forum. Given prompt Zhao secretly admires Zuko. One-sided Zhaoko, contains pedophilia, rape and torture, read at own risk.
1. Infatuation

_This was written for the Secret Admirer Competition for the AtLA Fanfiction Challenges Forum. _

_Prompt assigned: Zhao secretly admires Zuko_

* * *

"For the last time, I'm not playing the tsungi horn!" Zhao could hear the angry princeling from the corridor. He smirked to himself at the thought of the young prince, the young man's rage making the corners of his mouth pull down. He always was a beautiful boy, taking after Princess Ursa instead of inheriting Ozai's severe features.

"No, it's about our plans. There's a bit of a problem." General Iroh was always a diplomat, smoothing over hurt feelings to get what he needed. He had much more finesse than the Fire Lord, but with age comes wisdom.

Zhao decided that he wanted to see Zuko for himself, watch the way his eyes widened in surprise. He was not disappointed; the young man was still beautiful despite the scar marring half his face. "I'm taking your crew."

"What?!" Zuko's mouth hung open and he looked from the General back to Zhao, his inner fire making his golden eyes positively glow in the dark room.

"I've recruited them for a little expedition to the North Pole." He smiled as he watched the young man's entire world collapse around him. Part of him loved it, breaking his enemies was truly an invigorating feeling. But part of him hated to hurt the boy so. He'd been exiled and left out in the cruel world. He had half a mind to take the boy with him; he would put the princeling to work in some capacity, perhaps his personal cabin boy. But that would jeopardize his standing with the Fire Lord and that would not do.

"Uncle, is that true?" The boy's tone was miserable, disbelieving but that delicious rage still colored his eyes and made his stance tense.

"I'm afraid so. He's taking everyone," Iroh put his hand over his face, "even the cook."

Zhao couldn't help but provoke the young man, wanting to see more fire. "Sorry you won't be there to watch me capture the Avatar. But I can't have you getting in my way again."

As he intended, the boy snarled and charged, only held back by the old General. "No!"

He smirked and cast his glance around the dull room, enjoying the look of misery on the boy's face, the defeat in his shoulders. Then his eyes landed on the pair of dao swords hanging on the wall.

They couldn't be! Dual dao swords were rather rare these days; only skilled swordsmen could handle them properly. The Blue Spirit had been proficient but could the disgraced prince be the man that made him look like a fool all those weeks ago?

He frowned and took one of the swords off the wall. He was not ambidextrous enough to handle both swords at once, but he had trained under Piando's predecessor and was good enough for this demonstration.

He thrust the sword in the open space of the room, but kept his eyes on Zuko, watching the boy hide his panic.

"I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko." He was going to bring the boy back to the Fire Nation in chains, though he might just keep him to himself now. Perhaps the boy had grown out of his submissive phase.

"I'm not. They're antiques. Just decorative." Zuko looked him straight in the eye and lied. Zhao knew this sword was only a few years old, and the wear on the blades meant that they had been used recently.

The prince was getting better at lying too. Perhaps he should take the boy under his wing, after the Avatar has been captured that is.

"Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?" He turned towards the General, curious to see if the old man knew about his ward's activities.

"Just rumors. I don't think he is real."

"He's real, all right," he handed the sword to Iroh but kept his gaze on Zuko, "He's a criminal, and an enemy of the Fire Nation. But I have a feeling justice will catch up with him soon."

He exited the small cabin with a smirk, "General Iroh, the offer to join my mission still stands ... if you change your mind."

Zhao loved the outranged sound Zuko made. Oh yes, as soon as his mission was over, he would have the young prince.


	2. Capture

_This was written for the Weekly AU Competition for the AtLA Fanfiction Challenges Forum. _

_Prompt assigned: ZhaoWins!AU (Zhao at the North Pole)_

_Warnings: Pedophilia, rape, torture_

* * *

Zhao laughed as he re-boarded his ship. He had done it. He had won. He killed the moon spirit, rid the world of waterbending and captured the Avatar! He only had one thing left to do, claim his prize. It didn't take long for him to find the half-frozen prince adrift in the sea, clinging to some random debris. The young man felt unnaturally light in his arms as he carried him to his personal cabin.

The admiral lay the boy down on the bed and ripped off the prince's tattered clothing, revealing the pale and malnourished body beneath. Zhao could hardly believe this moment had come; he cupped the boy's cheek almost lovingly before he proceeded to check the boy for injuries. Zuko's body temperature was too low, and he struggled to breathe past what seemed like a pair of bruised ribs.

Zhao leaned over the prince and pressed his lips to his, but it was unsatisfying now that the boy was asleep. He would wait. He needed to see the fire in the prince's eyes. He needed the prince to know he was defeated. That he now belonged to Zhao.

Hours later, the boy stirred, groaning as he thrashed underneath the blanket Zhao had thrown over his naked body. "Wh-where?" was the only word he was able to rasp out through the fog of his fever.

The older man leaned over the prince. "You caught a fever from swimming in the North Sea. You are on my ship now, Prince Zuko."

The boy's eyes widened as he realized he'd lost. He tried to pull his hands up to fire a blast at him, but Zhao had been prepared. He'd tied the boy's hands behind him to prevent such defiance.

"You will behave yourself. You belong to me now. You will not do anything without my permission, do you understand?" Zhao put a hand on Zuko's chest, letting his fingers trail against the protruding ribs.

"N-no!" the boy gasped and tried to struggle away from the admiral's touch.

"You will obey me eventually, boy." Zhao sneered and threw the blanket aside, trailing his hand lower and lower, his fingers closing around the prince's manhood. He watched the horrified look of the boy as he worked his fingers, watching the prince try to remain defiant. He laughed as Zuko let out a reluctant gasp as his body involuntarily responded to the older man's touch.

Zhao smirked as the boy squeezed his eyes shut, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. He let go of the boy and straddled him, placing one hand on either side of the boy's face. He gently wiped the tears away and pressed his lips against the surprised prince's.

"Such a beautiful boy." Zhao whispered as he looked into the confused eyes of the prince. "It's your eyes, I think. They are so full of… emotion. I want those eyes to myself."

"No… please." Zuko whispered, his lovely eyes widening at the realization that no one would save him. There was no one left that would.

"You will love me, Zuko. In time, you will. Because I am the only person in the world that loves you." Zhao disrobed, then threw the prince's legs apart, ignoring the pained protests from the young man. Zuko would learn. He would learn to love him.

Zhao thrust himself inside the prince, tearing sensitive flesh and making the boy cry out in pain. Again and again he repeated the act until the boy cried his throat raw and broke into sobbing gasps, his face covered in tears. It hurt Zhao's heart to see the boy in such pain, but he did not stop until he came, riding the euphoria of finally making love to the young prince.

"Shhh… shhh… it wasn't that bad. You will get used to it." Zhao murmered, wiping the boy's face with the discarded blanket. He placed his hand on Zuko's cheeks again, forcing Zuko to look up at him.

Hatred burned in the prince's eyes. Burning hatred.

Zhao was not pleased.

"You will learn to love me!" He slipped his thumbs over Zuko's beautiful eyes and pressed down, feeling the organs move inside their sockets.

Zuko cried out in agony, thrashing about underneath him, but he was ill, injured and weak from the battle. He was not stronger than the Admiral. Zhao dug deeper, then pulled, pulling the offending orbs from their sockets. He summoned flames to his fingertips to sever the bundle of nerves that attached them to the Prince's head.

The room was eerily quiet; Zuko had passed out from the trauma, leaving Zhao to stare into the orbs in his hands. He pulled his robes back on and summoned his healer.

"Hideo, fetch me a jar." Zhao said as soon as the healer stepped in the cabin. "I need to preserve the fire in Prince Zuko's eyes."

Hideo bowed and left, not questioning the Admiral's orders. When he returned with a preservation jar, only then did Zhao allow the healer to tend to the prisoner's wounds.


End file.
